Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust has projected an £11 million hole in its funding this year.

A report from the Board of Directors seen by The Stray Ferret revealed how the Trust is trying to balance its books.

The Trust looked over its expenditure, top-up payments, and coronavirus funding before coming to the conclusion that it had a shortfall.

It will approach NHS centrally to ask for more money long term and, in the meantime, the Trust will request additional funds each month.

Read more on this story

• When health bosses welcomed the government’s decision to write off its £4.8 million debt
• How the Trust spent nearly half a million pounds on sick pay in the first month of lockdown

Financial directors at the Trust are looking at ways it can reduce its capital spending and the report says that they will have to reassess priorities over the next few weeks.

The report does not indicate what could be dropped but it does say that they have a June deadline for any proposals.

What has the Trust blamed for the expected shortfall?

The Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust has not blamed coronavirus for the £11 million gap in its funding.

Here are some of the bigger sums from the report:

• £3 million – The Trust claims back money from the CCG for work it has done on its behalf. However, North Yorkshire CCG itself has projected a deficit of £18 million for this financial year.
• £2.9 million – The Trust is in ongoing discussion with the NHS around its depreciating assets. It could be beds, computers or buildings.
• £1 million – The Trust is no longer receiving income from another provider for the Briary Wing.
• £2 million – Staff who work for local authority and the Trust are in line for a pay increase. It is also partly down to savings needed for the contracts.

Knaresborough food bank re-opens today after closing because of the coronavirus.

The food bank was previously closed because its base at Holy Trinity Church was not being suitable for social distancing measures. However, Reverend Stroma McDermott, of the church, has given the volunteers another room to work within allowing them to re-open safely.

The service provides food packages to residents of Knaresborough will open from 10.30 this morning to serve as many people that needs their help. The centre are still in need of public donations of food, these can be arranged through their Facebook page.

This re-opening comes as Harrogate food bank reported their numbers had doubled during the lockdown period. Among those who need support are people who have been left furloughed or without a job during the pandemic.

Volunteers are prepared to help those in need once again, with safety measures in place to ensure the safety of everyone at the centre.

Read more:

• Harrogate volunteers receive royal recognition. 
• Knaresborough prepares for shops to re-open with safety as a priority. 

Lucy Stewart, the Project Manager of Harrogate District food banks, said:

“Where we were before wasn’t lending itself to social distancing. The lack of the right kind of space and hand washing facilities combined with some of our volunteers sheltering made us decide to close. We really don’t know how many people to expect, the plan going forwards is to run a pre-order service. The client will call the voucher holder to request a voucher. The voucher holder then calls us in advance and we will pre-pack the right amount of food for the family size or individual. This means the package is ready and waiting for the client rather than us asking people to wait around.”

The Knaresborough Foodbank aims to provide a regular network of support for those in need in the area.

Fountains Abbey and the Studley Royal water garden will re-open tomorrow to the public. However, only one car park will be available.

This week the National Trust began its phased re-opening of all of its sites to ensure maximum safety for their visitors.

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal is the next to re-open. It will limit the number of visitors and insists on pre-booking before arriving.

Visitors will have the opportunity the pre-book online and will be given a 30 minute time slot to arrive within. Visitors who arrive without pre-booking will be turned away.

The cafe is closed but the toilets will remain open to the public.

Justin Scully, General Manager of Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal said:

“We have introduced a booking system so we’re able to control numbers to maintain public safety. Whilst the Studley car park remains closed the main visitor centre car park will be open and visitors will need to book in advance. Given the unprecedented circumstances, and in order to keep everyone safe, your visit to the National Trust will feel different from normal.”

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal is re-opening tomorrow with pre-booking essential for any visitors.

Read more:

• WATCH as Newby Hall prepares to re-open to the public in full bloom.
• The stunning area of Nidderdale could be under threat as six suspected incidents of bird poisonings take place during lockdown. 

Alexa Vernon is the Visitor Experience & Marketing Manager for the site, she said:

“The atmospheric abbey ruins, fanciful follies and elegant canals and ponds are all still the same though we have had to make some changes to keep everybody safe. All of our indoor spaces such as Fountains Hall and the Mill are closed as well as our playground. We’re asking everyone to park at the Visitor Centre though and to call ahead if they require level access.”

The McDonalds drive-thrus in Knaresborough and Ripon re-opened today to queues of customers.

During the pandemic, the restaurant chain had to close its doors but with safety measures in place it believes they can now safely operate the drive-thru’s.

There will be fewer staff on each shift to allow for social distancing. A limited menu and a capped spend of £25 have also been implemented.

In Knaresborough the customers queues saw up to 25 cars waiting to collect the food they had been missing for almost three months. Each car was stopped by a member of staff at the entrance and showed a leaflet of safety instructions.

Cars queued from the roundabout on St James retail park to be some of the first to eat at the restaurant since lockdown.

Read more:

• WATCH as Newby Hall prepared to open this week with its gardens in full bloom. 
• Harrogate town centre will be deep cleaned in preparation for shoppers to return. 

At the Ripon restaurant, the first in the queue were Matthew Jones and Georgia Coates, who live in Ripon and are regulars at the restaurant.

Matthew told The Stray Ferret:

“We were gutted when it closed, but it’s all good now.”

Throughout the day, a steady flow of cars came in from the Ripon bypass roundabout, marshalled into the drive through queue by two McDonald’s staff.

Franchisee Matthew Midwood said:

“We have been liaising for some time with North Yorkshire Police and they have been marvellous, helping us to put a traffic management plan in place. We anticipate being busy and want to avoid vehicles backing up to the roundabout. The takeaway side of our operation could have stayed open, but we took the decision as a business to close on 23rd March, for the safety and wellbeing of staff.”

Staff who have been furloughed during the temporary closure, will gradually return, as the government lockdown restrictions ease further and when restaurants are able to open their doors to eat in customers once more.

Knaresborough and Ripon markets won’t be fully re-opening this week- despite the government relaxing restrictions.

From Monday markets can open if social distancing guidelines are in place. But Harrogate Borough Council has chosen to delay fully opening the markets until next week, saying it wants to put more safety systems in place.

After seeing markets in Leeds and Barnsley re-opening fully, Ripon market traders were confused by the council’s decision.

The market stallholders representative at Ripon market, Brian Murphy said:

“I only heard from the council on Monday evening that we would not have a full market on Thursday. This has come as a surprise and disappointment to a number of non-food traders who hoped to be back after being unable to trade for weeks.”

Essential stalls such as those selling fruit and vegetables have remained open but other sellers have had to stay away.

Read more:

• Safety first at Ripon market as traders plead with customers to adhere to social distancing rules.
• Knaresborough prepares to reopen shops safely on the 15th June. 

However, Steve Teggin, the President of the Knaresborough Chamber of Trade thought this was a sensible decision:

“The council have been sensible to make this decision, they need to take time to see how it goes. There’s no way that we can accommodate all the stalls, so I think it’s the right decision. The health and safety would allow for 25 market stalls to open but road closures would be needed to accommodate this. The difficulty comes when they have to decide who to allow to return to their stalls.”

Mr Teggin said he thought it was likely there would be staggered approach to opening and that the chamber is having a meeting with the council later this week to discuss it.

Ripon Amateur Operatic Society, is determined that its show will go on.

The society, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, was due to stage ‘Oliver’ at Harrogate Theatre – a major production that would have brought much-needed revenue to support other activities.

Committee member Hannah Ruddy, told The Stray Ferret:

“We were due to have a four-day run at Harrogate Theatre in April and eight weeks beforehand had sold 40 percent of the tickets for our performances – a very healthy position to be in two months ahead of the opening curtain, but then COVID-19 meant that we had to postpone.”

Harrogate Theatre, itself in lockdown, announced last week that it had raised £40,000 in an emergency fundraising campaign and has agreed alternative dates next April, when the society, will be able to come back once more with its ‘Oliver’ production.

The society, which moved to its new base in Allhallowgate, Ripon in 2015, where there is a maximum seating capacity of 120, has been staging its major productions at Harrogate Theatre for many years. It had other fundraising activities cancelled, including an 80th anniversary dinner scheduled for next month, so the search is on for other funding sources.

The fingers of members are tightly crossed in the hope that the lockdown will have eased sufficiently later this year, for the musical ‘Chicago’ be staged between 23rd and 29th November at the Allhallowgate venue.

To off-set the cost of holding eight performances over seven days, a fundraising  page has been set up at www.gofundme.com/f/ripon-operatic-society for anybody wishing to make a donation.

In addition to looking forward to the re-start of rehearsals and future performances, the society is in the process of making its Allhallowgate base a community arts hub, providing a rare space in the city that other performing and artistic groups can use.

Hannah pointed out:

“Though we have been temporarily held up in our plans, I think about Oliver and the first line of the musical, which asks: ‘Is it worth the waiting for?’  and I know that the answer from all of our members is a resounding yes!”

The Bishop of Ripon, the Rt. Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, she says she’s received a call yesterday evening from the city’s MP Julian Smith.

Dr Hartley, told The Stray Ferret that ” it was good of him to be in touch” but did not want to share more details of the conversation.

The call from Mr Smith came at the end of a day which saw the Mayor of Ripon Councillor Eamon Parkin, and two of his mayoral predecessors Councillor Pauline McHardy and Councillor Stuart Martin all united in their condemnation of an email to the Bishop that read, ‘keep out of politics, or it will be the death of you’.

This death threat and similarly-worded threats made to the Bishop of Newcastle Christine Hardman and John Inge, the Bishop of Worcester, have been reported to the police in their respective diocese.

The Bishop, who took over her role in Ripon in 2018, received a number of hateful messages, alongside ones of support, after saying in a tweet that she disagreed with the way in which Prime Minister Boris Johnson had condoned the actions of his key adviser Dominic Cummings, who travelled 260 miles with his wife and young son from London to Durham at the height of the coronavirus lockdown.

Mr Cummings has subsequently come under fire from almost 40 Conservative MPs, who  have found his actions unacceptable and called for him to be dismissed. Among those making that call is Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones.

Following our initial story on Tuesday, the majority of Stray Ferret readers posting on Facebook, said they supported the bishop and her right to speak on the impact that politics has on people’s lives.

Dr Hartley, said:

“I am encouraged by the kind words that I have read and heard.”

Harrogate Borough Council has been given £141,177 from the government to help reopen high streets in town centres in the district safely.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced yesterday that non-essential shops, such as clothes stores and electronic outlets, will reopen from June 15 and urged people to spend money to help the economy “bounce back”.

Now, councils across the country have been handed money from a £50 million pot to help with measures to make shopping areas safe and will be able to spend the funding from June 1.

The money is designed to fund measures such as new signs, temporary barriers, street markings and marketing campaigns to reassure people that High Streets are safe.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged people to spend money to help the economy when non-essential stores reopen from June 15.

It comes as North Yorkshire County Council has already put out temporary bollards in town centres across the district to widen pavements to help social distancing. The authority’s highways chief was forced to defend the measures after criticism from some traders and on social media.

The funding is expected be among the last from the European Union Regional Development Fund which is allocated to the UK Government and handed to councils. The EU fund will finish at the end of this year.

High Streets Minister Simon Clarke MP said:

“As we begin to slowly return to normality, the re-opening our high streets will be key to kick-starting our economic recovery.

“Levelling up the regions and supporting our high streets has always been central to the mission of this government.

“Many businesses have already introduced creative ways of trading such as contactless collection or taking orders by instant messaging and shows that they are ready for the challenges ahead.

“That’s why we are providing an extra £50 million for councils to support a range of safety measures that will help get these businesses back on track and ensure that people can enjoy their time visiting their local high street safely again.”

Harrogate Borough Council has been approached for comment on what it intends to spend the funding on.

Retailers in the district are reporting an increase in the number of bikes sold since the coronavirus crisis began.

Some bike store owners in the district said they’ve seen more people opt for two wheels, with one reporting as selling as many as seven bikes a day.

It comes as the government urged more people to cycle to work as the lockdown eases.

In Harrogate, Prologue Cycling, which deals with performance model bikes, said it had seen good sales during the lockdown period from people who felt they had more time to upgrade their bikes.

Meanwhile, Damian Brooks, manager at Motor World in Ripon, said he had also seen an increase in sales at his store during lockdown.

He said: “I have never known it so busy. Since the coronavirus, people have become very fitness conscious and we are selling six to seven bikes a day. That’s as many as we were selling in a month before the crisis.”

National outlet, Halfords, reported a “better than expected” month in April where shares in the company jumped by 11%.

Grant Shapps, Transport Secretary, said people should consider taking up two wheels as the commute to work changes  and announced a £2 billion funding package to increase cycling and walking capacity across the UK.

Stray Ferret Focuses on Cycling

Over the next three days, The Stray Ferret will explore the debate surrounding the future of cycling in Harrogate in a Focus On Cycling series.

Each morning we will publish a story which will cover how the debate is shaping and what is being done as the call for more cycling lanes grows louder.

Tomorrow we will look at the projects planned in Harrogate and what progress has been made on them.

Make sure you sign up to notifications from The Stray Ferret so you don’t miss a story.

The number of jobless claims in the Harrogate district soared by around 150% at the start of the coronavirus lockdown.

ONS data shows that on March 12 there were 1,010 claims in Harrogate and Knaresborough and that increased to 2,570 by April 9. Ripon and Skipton saw a similar rise from 745 claims to 1,935.

In the UK, the claims rose at a record month-on-month rate by 69.1% to 2.1 million from March 12 to April 9, 2020.

That’s according to new data from the Office for National Statistics, which can be found here.

Both the Harrogate and Knaresborough as well as the Skipton and Ripon constituencies saw a much higher rise of 150% in claims than the UK average.

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, Andrew Jones, warned on his website that the unemployment figures could rise as more data becomes available.

“It would be wrong to view these figures as a one-month phenomenon. As the effect of lockdown continues to run through our local economy, as furloughing ends and as lockdown eases we are likely to see more shocks in the unemployment figures.”

It comes as the number of people using Harrogate’s food bank more than doubled when the coronavirus lockdown was introduced.